Trestle unloading apparatus



June '3, 1930. H. ADAMS 1,761,166

TRESTLE UNLQADING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 28, 1 928 I INVENTOR 62227 Y Y .QWI ATTORNEY Patented June 3, 193a umr STATE HENRY ADAMS, or rrarnrrnrn, new JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO ADAMS COAL MACHINERY FATE T FFICE" COMPANY, OF PLAINFIELID, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT TRESTLE UNLOADING APPARATUS Application filed. September 28, 1928. Serial No. 308,994.

This invention relates to a new method for unloading and storing coal, coke and other friable material, and has for an object to provide a means and method for gunloadingrailroad cars and the like from a trestle or'theflike with a minimum amount of breakage to the material unloaded andplaced in storage. j s a Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus which is simple, easy to manipulate and of comparatively small cost.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and method of this kind in which a continuous stream of'coal is held all the way from the car which is being unloaded to the bottom of the storage place, so that there will be no fall of the material causing excessive breakage, therebyv causing a loss to the dealer as well as an inferior article to the consumer.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and method of this knid by which the material is handled in such a manner thatits structural strength is not destroyed by receiving rough handling such as allowing it to fall.

Another object of this invention is to have an apparatus which canbe placed on any railroad track or trestle or the like without making major changes. a

A method combining the above objects of this invention makes a'very' efiicient means and method for unloading and placing in storage, coal, coke or other friable material from a railroad car on a trestle placed over what is commonly called a ground storage or over a pocket.

One of the present ways of placing coal or coke in storage is to place it in what is commonly known as ground storage, which is nothing more than a vacant space for the coal underneath a railroad track on a trestle, the trestle in height, averaging from 15 to 30 feet. The material'is brought in railroad cars which are placed on the trestle lowed tofall from the car down to the ground. This fall causes excessive breakage and the pieces of material which do not break are structurally weakened by thefall, so muchso that they will readily break on being handled. This breakage is very detrimental in many ways, such" as lessening the combustlon value of coal or coke as 1t is almost impossible to deliver a uniform size.

Also unless the material is very carefully screened a large amount of fines and dust are placed in the consumers cellar. In the case of anthraclte coal, as an example, if a car of stove coal. be unloaded and placed in ground storage, the fall will cause this coal to break up into sizes smaller than stove.

size such as chestnut, pea and buckwheat, the price of peaand buckwheat being much less than that of stove or chestnut, so that the consumer mustpay a much higher price.

for part of his coal than he should. There are many storage pockets which are filled in the same manner as described above for ground storage. At the present time where coal is unloaded from railroad cars as described, the principal breakage is caused. when unloading the first coal. as the fall'will .then be the greatest. As soon as the pile is brought up to the Railroad track the fall is very much less, but even in this case this fall would probably average five feet and the breakage caused by dropping anthracite coal five feet is excessiveg at the present time all coal dealers having storage plants as above described endeavor to keep the pile of. coal just as close to the vtrack from which the car is unloaded as possible,

but as stated before-a most conservative estimate is an average drop of at least five feet.

By using my new process the presentonly fall that the coal will receive will be I possibly the first 500 pounds, and this will only fall a distance of from 6 inches to one foot and after this the coal receives no other falls or rough treatmentof any kind, as it is fed down and placed in the ground storage space by means shown in my applications Serial Nos. 124,189 and 168,985.

Other objects of the invention are to improve generally the simplicity and efficiency of such methods and apparatus and to pro vide an apparatus of this ind which is economical and reliable in operation, and economical to erect.

Still other objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds; and while herein details of the invention are described and claimed, the invention is not limited to these, since many and various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed in the broader claims.

The inventive features for the accomplishment oi these and other objects are shown herein in connection with an improved car unloader shown in combination with a trestle having cross ties thereon carrying rails adapted to receive thereon a car having a lower hopper.

A. floor is provided on the ties extending a distance about equal to the length of the car, the floor filling the space between the ends of the cross ties and the rails, and provided with a longitudinal opening between the rails down the middle of the track.

A plate about as long as said lioor is slidable on said floor over said opening and adapted to receive the material from the car when the hopper is opened, side walls the side edges of the floor preventing the material from spilling.

The plate may be drawn longitudinally from under the car to permit the material to flow into a chute under the car.

In the accompanying drawing showing, by way of example, one of many possible embodiments of the invention, 7 i

Fig. l is a tragmental plan showing the track, floor and plate;

Fig. 2 is a fragmental longitudinal vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, showing the car, trestle and chute; and

Fig. 3 is an end elevation showing the apparatus and trestle.

My improved unloading apparatus is shown in combination with. a trestle 5 having cross ties 6 thereon carrying rails 7 adapted to receive thereon cars 8 having lower hoppers 9 having doors 10.

Outer and inner planks 12, 13 secured on said ties longitudinally of the rails form a floor on the trestle having a length somewhat greater than the length of the car, the

outer planks 12 filling the space between the ends of the cross ties and the rails, the inner planks 13 being disposed acent to the inner side of the rails, leaving a wide longitudinal opening 15 between the inner planl-rs 13 along the middle of the track.

An elongated slide plate of steel 16 or the like nearly as long as said floor is slidable on said inner planks 13 and provided with eyes 17 in opposite ends in which are secured flexible members 18 disposed in opposite directions along the middle of the track and carried over pulleys 19 disposed beyond the limiting positions of the plate 16, said members being adapted to be secured to a winch or to be otherwise drawn, whereby the plate may be drawn over the openin and under a car to permit material to be p led thereon. lVhen the hopper door 10 is opened, the material flows out onto said plate and floor.

Longitudinal planks 20 secured, edge up, on the ends of the cross ties and extending the length of the other planks form walls at the outer edge of the floor to keep the material from spilling over at said edges. I

Guide members 22 (Fig. 1) are secured on the inner planks and disposed along the edges of the plate for guiding the latter and provided with retaining flanges 23 engaging over the plate to hold the latter in place.

A chute 25 under said opening 15 receives and gradually lowers the material when said plate is gradually drawn from under the hopper by means of one of the members 18.

Said chute comprises side Walls 26 to the rear of which a vertical wall 27 is secured, and a chute floor 28 inclined at an angle slightly steeper than the angle of repose of said material on the floor of the chute and less than the angle of repose of the material on itself, whereby the material may flow down the inclined chute until it reaches the ground, whereupon the material will pile up.

The rear and side walls 26, 27 are cut oil at the upper part to fit up under the trestle floor; and each side wall has a slanting outer edge 29 steeper than the angle of repose of the material on itself.

A plurality of separate metal covered avalanche plates 80 are mounted between and secured perpendicularly to said side walls dillerent distances from the ends of the chute along the open side thereof, at an angle slightly less than the angle of repose oi the material on the plate, whereby the material will pile up on the plate until the material reaches the upper part the chute to control the flow of material therein, and until the pressure is sufficient to force the material over the avalanche plate. The material will then avalanche down over the plates with a minimum of breakage, and continue to do so as the lowering of the material at said opening 15 permits more "late-rial to be discharged into the chute, unti. the material piles upon the ground and the avalanche chute is filled, whereupon the material will pile up along and in all directions from said slanting edges 29 beginning near the lower part of said slanting edges and mounting up as the inclined chute fills up until a pile is formed on the ground all on a trestle, Fig. 3, the hopper of the car being over the plate 16. The door of the hopper on being opened will permit the coal to fall on to the plate. The distance of the fall will be from six inches to one foot and pounds would be about all that would fall this distance. The planks and side walls will keep the coal from rolling over the side of the trestle. I

The plate is now withdrawn (as indicated by the dotted lines of Fig. 1) .by means of the winch Fig. 8 and as it is drawn back,

the coal will fill up the avalanche chute and will fiow in a stream down the avalanche chute over avalanche plates 30 as described in one. of my copending applications, Serial Nos. 124,189 and 168,985, and the ground storage space will be gradually filled up to the bottom of the track. At no time is the coal allowed to fall any appreciable distance nor does it receive any rough handling, obviously reducing to a minimum the excessive breakage caused by the present methods of dropping coal from the trestle and the rough handling which it generally receives when being placed in storage.

After all of the material over one hopper of the car is withdrawn, the material in the other hopper may be discharged upon the slideplate, and then the slide plate may be further withdrawn; or the car may be moved to permit the second hopper to discharge where the first was discharged.

The plate 16 may be drawn along under the car to permit the material to be spilled at various points along the opening 15; and the car may be moved to cause its hopper to discharge material over the avalanche chute until the material forms a pile extending up to the trestle. Then the plate 16 and car may be moved to cause material to be discharged further along the opening 16 and on the edge of the pile, and the car and plate may be advanced as the pile and its top are extended along under the trestle.

Thus the car and its hopper co-operate with the apparatus thereunder to constitute a movable storage means. The above stated movement may be. continued for a consider able distance; and while the planks 12 and 13 are shown as not greater than the length of the car, the invention'is not thus limited.

I claim as my invention: o

1. In combination, a raised track adapted to receive a car thereon having hoppers in the lower part thereof, said hoppers having doors; an elongated plate longitudinally slidably mounted under said hoppers almost in contact therewith upon which the material may pile to be stopped by the plate; an inclined chuteunder saidplate adapted to receive material when said plate is longitudinally drawn away to permitthe end of the plate to pass gradually from under the hopper; said chute comprising a 'rear wall and side walls, extending to near the level of the plate; and a chute floor inclined at an angle very slightly steeper than the angle of repose of said material on the floor of the chute and less thanthe angle of repose oi the material on itself and resting on the ground, whereby thematerial may flow down the inclined chute until it reaches the ground, whereupon the material will pile up to the level of the plate; means in the chute for retarding the flow of material therein, thereby to retard the material flowing from the hopper to prevent any fall of the material at any part of its flow; whereby the material may form a pile from the ground to the any fall of the material at any part of its flow, whereby the material may form a pile from the ground to the plate, and the plate be advanced to pile material upon the forward part of the pile.

. 3. Apparatus comprising holding means causing to pile up directly under acar material discharged from a car a distance above the ground, said meansbeing operative to cause the material to discharge; means for gradually lowering to the ground material, discharged from the holding means, until the material piles up to the holding means to form a pile; said holding means being movable to deposit material on one side of the pile and gradually further along the pile as the top of the pile increases in area.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State or" New York, this 26th day of September, A. D. 1928.

' HENRY ADAMS. 

